Monday, May 18, 2009

Christians lose livelihoods in pig cull

The Tablet18 May 2009Dr Helmy Guirguis, president of the UK Copts Association, said the Government had agreed to compensate farmers, but the price they had been offered was only 10-15 per cent of the normal value of the animals. He said he was not convinced that Cairo would follow through on its pledge to build designated pig farms. Young pigs suckle from their mother, at a private farm located in one large pig farming centerMANY MEMBERS of Egypt’s ancient Christian minority have had their livelihoods destroyed at the hands of the Government, in the wake of the swine-flu scare, writes Abigail Frymann. The Government of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak ordered a cull of the country’s entire pig population on Wednesday 30 April. The authorities are calling the slaughter a general health measure, having initially described it as a precaution against swine flu. No cases of the virus have been reported in Egypt, and the World Health Organisation insists there is no evidence of it being transmitted from animals to humans, but Egypt began the cull in earnest on Saturday. Egypt’s 300,000 pigs mostly belong to and are eaten by members of Egypt’s Coptic minority, which accounts for 9 per cent of the population. Many of Egypt’s Copts are poor and complain of worsening discrimination by their Muslim compatriots. Coptic rubbish-recyclers rear the pigs in backyards in Cairo’s shanty towns to dispose of organic waste, and sell off some animals from their herds once a year. Eating pork is forbidden under Islam and 90 per cent of Egyptians are Muslim. On Sunday pig farmers took to the streets around the Cairo slum district of Manshiyet Nasr, where hundreds of residents, mostly rubbish recyclers, on Sunday fought running battles with police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd.The rights group Voice of the Copts called the cull, which may take up to six months, a drastic decision that could be seen as part of the “forced Islamisation” pushing Copts to abandon their faith or leave the country. In a statement the group said the Government had long been wanting to rid Egypt of pigs.The authorities have said pig farming will return within two years and that they will restructure pig farming so that animals are not reared on rubbish tips but on proper farms.Dr Helmy Guirguis, president of the UK Copts Association, said the Government had agreed to compensate farmers, but the price they had been offered was only 10-15 per cent of the normal value of the animals. He said he was not convinced that Cairo would follow through on its pledge to build designated pig farms. Pig owners are also concerned that if their pigs are killed there will be no way to dispose of the waste previously eaten by them.uk copts

About Me

Mr. Morris Sadik is one of Egypt's leading human rights advocates. He is President of the Egyptian Center of Human Rights for National Unity in Cairo. In October 1999, he became Advocates' Counsel for Middle East Affairs with a special focus on Egypt, as well as a director of our International Institute for Law. He is a fearless scholar and a recognized expert in constitutional and human rights law. Working as a team, Morris and Nagi have already scored a major victory this October when they joined forces to defend Adly Shakir, a Christian sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. As a result of Morris's advocacy before the Supreme Court in Egypt and Nagi's networking in Washington on Capitol Hill and among the diplomatic community, Mr. Shakir's death sentence was reversed. But the battle for Mr. Shakir's life is not over. A new trial is set for January. In addition, Nagi and Morris are working on the infamous Al-Kosheh incident, in which 1,200 Christians were tortured. Advocates International Morris Sadek Esq is apresident of national American coptic Assembly - non profit org
Email - morrissdk@gmail.com